A number of different games of chance may use electronic gaming machines as an interface through which players may participate in the game. For example, electronic gaming machines (also known as “player stations”) may be used to imitate a traditional mechanical slot machine, a poker game, blackjack game, or other traditional casino games. Electronic gaming machines may also be used to play lottery games, bingo and games similar to bingo, and other games of chance that are not necessarily related to any traditional casino game.
Electronic player stations are commonly housed in a large and oftentimes stand alone cabinet. The cabinet includes a front side on which is mounted a game display such as a suitable video display and/or a suitable mechanical display (a series of rotatable reels, for example) along with player controls. Player controls may include various types of mechanical controls such as switches, buttons, and levers mounted on a forwardly extending ledge below the game display. Player controls may also be incorporated into a video display portion of a game display using touch screen technology. In addition to the game display and basic player controls through which the player makes choices or takes action in the game offered through the player station, a player station may also include other player interface devices such as coin or paper currency acceptors, player card or credit card acceptors, keypads, and other player interface devices.
Player stations may be either “stand alone” or “networked.” “Stand alone” player stations have the necessary electronics, ancillary equipment and power supply to operate by themselves with some routine maintenance. These player stations are most often found in locations such as bars, convenience stores, and the like that accommodate a limited number of gaming machines. “Networked” player stations are linked to a communications network and are most commonly found in locations of heavy use, such as casinos, game arcades and bingo halls, for example, although networked player stations may also be located at small scale gaming venues such as bars, convenience stores, and the like. The network through which a player station communicates with external devices typically includes a number of player stations in communication with one or more servers that perform functions associated with game play such as accounting, player tracking, and result generation, for example.
In most electronic player stations that are housed in a cabinet, whether stand alone or networked, various graphic displays may be located above and/or below the game display on the front side of the cabinet. These additional graphic displays may be implemented with video display monitors or may be in the form of static graphic displays, and generally provide information regarding the game offered through the player station such as pay tables and other game related information. These additional graphic displays also commonly include colorful and attractive graphics that are coordinated with the graphics shown on the game display in the course of game play. The graphic display located above the game display is commonly referred to as the “top glass,” whereas the graphic display located below the game display is commonly referred to as the “belly glass.” When additional graphic displays are used, these may also incorporate non-static elements such as counters or numeric displays for showing bonus or progressive play information and other time-varying play information.
The look of a particular game to a player at a player station may be referred to as a “game presentation.” The game presentation for a given game includes the graphics displayed on any video game display included in the player station, any visible presentation shown on mechanical display devices included in the player station, and associated graphics shown on the top glass and belly glass. For example, a video display-based player station providing a game presentation imitating a mechanical slot machine will include graphics displayed on the game video display to imitate a number of rotatable reels. In response to a player control, these representations of reels are “set in motion” using suitable graphics display techniques. Graphics display techniques are then used to make the simulated rotating reels appear to stop at some final stop position that indicates the outcome of the play. The top glass and belly glass will commonly have graphics associated with a theme of the imitated slot-type game, and a payout table showing payouts for various reel stop positions. As another example, a player station providing a game presentation imitating a poker game may include animated graphics displayed on the game video display showing a card deal and allowing the player to see the cards they are dealt and perhaps certain cards dealt to the house or other players depending upon the specific type of poker game being portrayed. The top and belly glass graphics which are part of the poker presentation may be related to the poker theme and may also include payout tables for the poker game, game rules, and other information.
The game presentation of a player station may depict the actual game offered through the player station or some other game of chance. An example of an electronic player station that depicts the actual game being played is a slot machine type game in which the player station or some associated piece of equipment executes a program to independently pick the reel stop positions for a given play, and thus determine the outcome of the play. A video lottery player station is an example of an electronic player station that may depict a game different from the game actually being played to determine a win/loss result. In video lottery player stations, the win/loss result is determined by a predetermined video lottery ticket or data record that is selected from a set of such records in response to a game play request. The game video display of a video lottery player station may simply show a representation of the predetermined lottery record selected for a given game play request. However, the graphics provided on the game video display may alternatively provide a presentation of a different game such as a presentation including a representation of spinning reels imitating a traditional mechanical slot machine, or a representation of a horse or dog race, or a representation of a card game. The stop position is dictated by the result associated with the predetermined video lottery record selected in response to a game play request entered through the video lottery player station.
Games of chance available through electronic player stations are commonly regulated by one or more governmental authorities. Many jurisdictions in fact ban games of chance that are played through electronic player stations. Other jurisdictions allow electronic player stations offering games of chance, but place various limitations on the games. One common type of limitation that may be placed on a game of chance offered through an electronic player station relates to the types of prizes that may be awarded in the course of the game. In particular, the prize value may be limited to some relatively small multiple of the bet placed in the game or to some relatively small cash value. For example, a game of chance implemented through an electronic player station may be limited to prizes no greater than ten times the bet placed in the game, or no greater than five dollars, whichever is less.
Limitations on the prizes that may be offered in games played through electronic player stations greatly constrain game designers. Typically, it is desirable to provide a fairly large number of available prizes in a game, with some reasonable number of relatively low-value prizes and at least a few high-value prizes. The chances of winning one of the relatively low-value prizes on a given play in the game may be relatively high compared to the chances of winning one of the high-value prizes. These types of diverse prize structures having both relatively low-value and relatively high-value prizes are believed to be more attractive to potential players. Thus, game regulations limiting the prizes that may be offered in a game to relatively low-value prizes tend to limit the popular appeal of the games and minimize play in the games.